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ExpectMore.govExpectMore.gov home pageEXPECT FEDERAL PROGRAMS TO PERFORM WELL, AND BETTER EVERY YEAR.
 
Program Assessment

Program

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Rural Telecommunications Loan Programs

The Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service (RUS) provides direct loans to rural telecommunications providers for the improvement and expansion of telecommunications services in rural areas.

Rating

What This Rating Means

PERFORMING
Adequate

This rating describes a program that needs to set more ambitious goals, achieve better results, improve accountability or strengthen its management practices.
  • The telecommunications programs have clear purpose and good program management, which results in bringing telecommunication services to most rural residents.
  • The Rural Utilities Service has developed baselines and ambitious targets for new long-term and annual performance measures. For example, they will now measure the percentage of subscribers receiving new or improved service.
  • The program is not designed to prevent funding from supporting non-rural telecommunications investments since there is no requirement to recertify the rural status of a telecommunications provider.

Improvement Plan

About Improvement Plans

We are taking the following actions to improve the performance of the program:

  • Developing a measure to track the population size of the communities served and reducing funding that supports non-rural areas.
  • Determining if the current policy for loan processing of "first in, first out" provides adequate support to the areas with the highest priority needs.
  • Conducting periodic independent reviews that assess the program's performance.

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